So i'm up looking at the moon and i'm wondering how much sunlight does the moon give off and is any of it beneficial to plants?
Could plants benefit from moonlight in any significant way?
Keen to hear anyone's opinion on it <3
-Goodnight

Hi! I was wondering if someone with experience in growing Acaica's could tell me when they prefer to transplant them into the ground.
I have a ~50cm obtusifolia sapling doing pretty well with 10 or so phyllodes in a huge pot. I just want to do what's best for the plant.
Same with floribunda
-Cheers! <3

Hey guys,
I'm having a huge spring sale all day Saturday the 7th of October in the western suburbs of Melbourne, 3029. This is an invitation to anyone I've MEET BEFORE to come and grab some awesome Trichocereus clones and hybrids, I have hundreds of plants and cuttings of all sizes to sell so bring your Ute or Trailer Most plants will be .50c to $1 per cm. Please message me for more details. Cheers

Are there any electronics geeks who can tell me why the f*k PAR meters are so expensive? The standard models don't even have a logging function FFS, and start at around AUD $300
PAR ( Photosynthetically Active Radiation ) meters measure light based on that part of the spectrum which is used for photosynthesis by plants.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthetically_active_radiation
Dead handy little buggers those meters. Our human irises open and close to adjust the amount of light they let in, but plants don't have this light-adjusting capacity the same way. So a plant can be getting much less useful light than we realise til we test it.
Plants in tissue culture photosynthesise way less than outdoor plants because they use the sugars ( or other carbon sources ) in the media for energy. It's why we get away with using fluro tubes and get good growth. But fluro tubes lose a large proportion of their photosynthetically useful light after 3 months and need replacing- the light at those wavelengths isn't differentiated by our eyeballs, but the plants notice, believe me.
I've been told that other indoor lights- metal halides for example- also lose some of their PAR strength after a period of time, but I have no experience with this.
And I've seen people swear blind their plants are sick, when after careful checking their plants aren't getting enough light because they're shaded for the parts of the day when there's no-one around. This is more pronounced in winter when the days are shorter and the sun's angle of attack is different
I bought plans to make a unit with an Arduino using LEDs, but it's a world of hurt for me and the tek ( to my n00b eye ) seems to be primitive and possibly inaccurate. It'll have to wait until I have some geek mates in-house for a weekend with soldering irons and whisky and those weekends never turn out the way they're planned anyhow :D
Fuck it, I want a network of the little buggers with temp and PH, two sensors it's easy to build loggers with. Then I can really see what my plants are up to. Plus it could save me some $$ replacing fluros all year. And maybe save some planty lives if there are dodgy tubes in the rack
Anyone know of a cheap chip that's up to the job?

hello all.... my shamanic name is forgotten, but intention is pure...
i have started a career in horticulture... i have the startings of a shamanic garden, as i strictly (for now) refer to my practice as conversational art, (for the purpose of psychological healing) i do not wish to medicate others until i have unmedicated myself.... (although i do not see medication as the only or even the first route towards healing)
so for now the only drug i have is coffee... i also have peanuts, tomatoes, lettuce, a fuschia, strawberries, corn, the wonga wonga vine, some cereus cacti :P, a prickly pear, a sunflower, chillies
my current thinking is to have lemons, an acacia confusa(time...) as well as some various other plants for dreaming....
was basically wondering if anyone had any recommendations... I am as the spirits(god)(whatever your name is) refer to as the nitrous shaman... it is time for me to put down this shamanic tool, leave my trances... and learn... so in your answer...extra bonus points for a possible use in addiction psychology... creative answers are welcome though always

Ethnobotanicals for the treatment of Psoriasis
This thread is to document mine and others observations on plants and there effect on psoriasis. Please add any relevant info or queries. I am referring to plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
Psoriasis is an auto-immune disease that presents itself as inflamed, red, flaky patches of skin where skin cell production has increased to replace every 3 - 5 days rather than the regular 28 - 30 days.
Joints can become inflamed with what is called psoriatic arthritis. Nails can also be affected by psoriasis.
Many factors seem to influence psoriasis including genetics, diet, stress, allergies & environment.
Due to the nature of psoriasis and other autoimmune conditions there doesn't seem to be a panacea, some things work for some people and don't work for others.
Your methods may vary.
Botanical name - Common name Uses Parts used
Description
Aloe vera Anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal Gel
Topically reduces itching, redness and scale.
Calendula officinalis - Calendula Antiviral, anti-inflammatory Flower petals
Made into a balm or oil and used externally this soothes skin inflammation
Cocos nucifera - Coconut Antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral Oil
Use only virgin cold pressed (no chems), organic oil. Others have burnt me and tasted of solvent.. This is one of the best topicals I have found at reducing redness, scale and size of spots and moisturizing. Eating it regularly seems to improve skin health.
Curcuma longa - Tumeric Anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antibacterial Root
Helps with inflammation, increasing overall mobility. Contains curcumin, which apparently inhibits skin growth factors leading to psoriasis scales.
Malus domestica - Apple Antibacterial, antifungal Apple Cider Vinegar
Externally good for scalp psoriasis, don't use if you have broken skin as it will burn.
Phormium sp. - Flax Anasthetic, antiseptic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory Gel from leaves
Reduces itch, redness and scale. History of use by Maori internally and externally.
Piper excelsum - Kawa Kawa Antibacterial & anti-inflammatory Leaves
Adds a soothing quality to balms, helps with the burning and scale. Many accounts of use amongst Maori internally and externally.
Withania somnifera - Ashwagandha Anti-inflammatory Leaves & Root
Alleiviates pain in joints, itchiness and fatigue. General mobility seems improved The immune boosting and steroidal properties of this plant may be of concern when used for psoriasis.
Zingiber officinale - Ginger Antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory Root
Topically reduces joint inflammation. Internally reduces joint & skin inflammation, increasing overall mobility and energy.

Hello all,
I am new here. First off, nice to meet you all and merry Xmas. I have always had an interest
In Ethnobotany, but I haven't been to this forum before, I am hoping to have a nice time here. :-).
I am after some khat plants, I have some seeds, but god knows I just can't seem to get them to
Germinate, I bought them from SHAM. And since that I live in WA, I can't buy the plant from the
Eastern States. So if anybody in WA has some khat plants available for sale then please let me
Know as I desperately want to add a live khat plant to my ethnobotanical garden. Don't mind how
Much I have to pay either. Thanks guys, much appreciated.
Cheers.

Hey guys! So I thought I'd finally get on to posting my greenhouse I made. I decided to make one as I was sick of having to re-shore up my POS Bunning's one after heavy gales. So, staying true to my frugal traits, I was thinking "best size vs. cost analysis" for the build. Over here most lengths of timber are 4.8m long. I was thinking 2.4m, but for the area, it was a little too big. So I thought 1.6m lengths - that was I can get 3 cuts from one length. This method will suffice for the roof and flooring which will be assembled as solid pieces (if I have to move house).
The floor is made from premium grade pine H4 150mm x 25mm that was left over from our house decking. Screwed down with stainless steel screws. The wall framing is also screwed, so I can disassemble it if need be. The framing is H3.2 rough sawn 75mm x 95mm all over. The grading of the roof slope is 2.2m sloping down to 2m at the rear. - I had to break away from the 1.6m for obvious reasons The roof is tinted UV resistant corrugated plastic. The walls, due to the cost of using plastic sheeting are only greenhouse plastic wrapping - 25m for $10 I think. I used a staple gun to apply it. Next is the shelving... Using L-brackets for shelving support. For the shelving I used H3.2 pine decking timber. 90mm x 20mm. The shelving will consist of 2 tiers. So... I am very pleased with it at this point As you can see I utilize all the horizontal space for shelving. Left over decking timber is used where I can I decided to use really bright Caribbean colours as a nice contrast, I think it's worked well.. The paint is a Resene High-gloss enamel for outdoor with extra anti-mold additive. The surface was primed, then sanded lightly with 180 grit, then 2x coats of top coat. And thus concludes my cactus abode of colour. Ha! Hope you enjoyed

Hello, So I understand it is not long until it will be officially spring and I can feel it starting to warm up, With that being said I am very curious as to what I should be preparing myself for as this is the first spring for me as a gardener.
I have all of my cacti inside and have 6 month old cacti seedlings trolling round. Wait until last frost is clear before bringing them out?
I would love to know about some great techniques for healthy growth like where I should position my cacti and fertilizer routines and what not.
I understand that the majority of you will be germinating vegetables and other plants and was wondering what is on everybody's list for 2014/15's list for growing.
As this will be my first full grow season I could use all the help I could get.
Thanks

Hi All,
***** (1) Pavilions at Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens being burnt down:
So it's true? The Tecoma Pavilion wasn't burnt? Anyone been there to have a look-see since mid May?
Even so, I'm thinking that the officially scheduled demand for Tecoma will shoot way up (for weddings, anniversaries, etc.) because the others were destroyed. Meaning (especially in winter) we'll probably be sitting around in the rain, looking at others who are under cover.
***** (2) A new (better) venue from now on:
An alternative venue may be called for. Someplace cheap, not too far from the "centre" of Melbourne, with ample parking and weather cover.
Glen Iris has been the "centre of population" for Melbourne since the 1990s (q.v. Wikipedia). The Monash Freeway, Metro stations, and bus lines are all close, and I'm sure the parking would be better. It seems the fairest and most democratic place to shoot for, and may result in an increased turnout.
Anyone live in that local government area, and want to check out cheap meeting hall rentals? I'm happy to pay $2 to $5 for a warm dry place with a kettle. It's not like we get together all that often.
(3) Next actual meeting:
When ARE we gonna meet again? I really miss you guys. My propagation successes are still overwhelming the capacity of my garden, so I've got lots of established plants to give away.
(4) A name:
Maybe change our name from "the melbourne botanical garden ethnobotanical appreciation group" to something a bit less "botanical garden", and maybe with the word "growers" added? (We are uniquely interested in the practial aspects of cultivating and propagating very challenging species from all over the world.)
Cheers,
Old Man Carl

Ok so I have this bottle of water with 400 mg of pure EGCG (Antioxidant in green tea). EGCG is extremely bitter and I AM NOT going to drink that.. it's almost as bad as Ayahuasca. Anyway I was wondering how it would affect a plant? I'm guessing oxidative damage can happen within plant cells as well. But would giving a plant small doses of antioxidants actually be beneficial to it? Even marginally? There is an obvious and easy way to test this.. Grow two plants and start giving one plant an antioxidant molecule in decent amounts and watch their growth and overall health for a length of time and accessing the effect on the antioxidant treated plant. But I cant find this or any test on plants of this kind. So anyone have any ideas? Green tea plants seem to always have a really health look to them. Ive never grown green tea but i have looked at pictures before. Maybe the EGCG and various antioxidants plays a role? Any thoughts? Scientifically based or not? Experience even?

I'm looking for some small hbwr plants, small datura plants and a caapi plant or fresh cutting, nothing over 20cm. If you have any of the above and are willing to part with them please message me and let me know if your wanting to sell or trade.

Hello people, im sick of buying woodchips and just plain shitty mixes. Doe anyone know of any good potting mix i can buy? Specific brands you guys with years of gardening experience can reccomend? Also is there any particular type of sand (i know sand is basically just silicon dioxide but im thinking differant types may have differant micronutrients and whatnot?) that is good? I want to repot some cactus and plants and I AM NOT planting my plants in this cruddy mix.. No. Thankyou in advance.

Heya everyone, Just thought I'd take the opportunity to hopefully benefit from any and all of the advice you might be able to offer to a guy keen on the whole thing but a complete novice. I've made a nice sum from my earlier investments into Bitcoin and am now looking to branch out a portion of that money into a more physical and workable revenue stream. I'd be enormously grateful for anything you might be able to contribute! I'll break it down so maybe any of your thoughts can be more easily directed.
I'm looking into getting some property. Mostly plant based agriculture with maybe chickens or something for eggs (possibly beekeeping). Land between $50,000 - $500,000..with the upper end only if myself and friends pool funds. Looking to start this as in investment / 'gap year' opportunity. Spending a year minimum on building and renovating a farm into a scalable residents that provides through being a permaculture property. How many people do you think would be manageable? What kind of acreage? Sought after professions/expertise? Other expansions to this I might have overlooked? Hidden costs? Upkeep? Solar / wind / ??? integration and initial costs? Being from an I.T background I'm interested in setting up some semi automated systems based on aquaponic and hydroponic setups. Large scale edible mushroom production would also be quite viable. Is this a dangerous idea to be undertaken by a relatively amature hobbyist such as myself. What would be good crops? Locations (Vic)? Your experiences? Does anyone here own any large properties that's for farming or was previously? I'm also a little concerned (a lot really) about locations that are prone to bush fires... Not sure how to go about minimising that risk factor. Ok before I make this look any worse... I'll finish now before massacring your eyes with this shocking formatting. Hope to hear ya ideas :D LUWA ._.

Hey all
i question ive found hard to get an answer for.
What are we allowed to grow in WA with the new laws???
I mean, to my understanding the way the law is now, anything that the judge wants to charge you for, he/she can
Does this mean things like lotus, Heimia, lions tail and the likes can be classed as illegal???

How Scavenging Fungi Became a Plant’s Best Friend
Glomeromycota is an ancient lineage of fungi that has a symbiotic relationship with roots that goes back nearly 420 million years to the earliest plants. More than two thirds of the world’s plants depend on this soil-dwelling symbiotic fungus to survive, including critical agricultural crops such as wheat, cassava, and rice. The analysis of the Rhizophagus irregularis genome has revealed that this asexual fungus doesn’t shuffle its genes the way researchers expected. Moreover, rather than having lost much of its metabolic genes, as observed in many mutualistic organisms, it has expanded its range of cell-to-cell communication genes and phosphorus-capturing genes.
Image: Spores and hyphae (root-like extensions) of an AMF, R. irregularis,
grown among carrot hairy roots. Photo by Guillaume Bécard (University of Toulouse).
A team led by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) and including researchers from the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) reported the complete genome of R. irregularis (formerly Glomus intraradices) in a paper published online November 25 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS http://bit.ly/PNAS-Glomus). The fungus is a member of the Glomeromycota family and frequently colonizes many plants important to agriculture and forestry. Glomeromycota, also called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), play a vital role in how phosphorus and carbon cycles through the atmosphere and land-based ecosystems, but exactly how it does this vital job is poorly understood.
“This is the first sequenced genome of arbuscular mycorrhizae, the type that is dominant on the planet,” said Igor Grigoriev, one of the senior authors on the paper and lead for the Fungal Genomics Program at the DOE JGI.
It was a long hard road to a sequenced arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus. In 2006, shortly after the DOE JGI sequenced the first tree genome, Populus trichocarpa, it became apparent that it takes a village (of other organisms) to raise a poplar tree. Researchers Jerry Tuskan of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Francis Martin of INRA, recommended that the assembly of Populus-associated fungi and bacteria be sequenced to inform research on perennial plant growth, ecosystem function and plant microbe interactions. This long passage is outlined in an earlier publication in New Phytologist (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02671.x/full). Rhizophagus irregularis, is the next in this linage to be released by the DOE JGI, it follows the ectomycorrhizal fungal symbiont Laccaria, the poplar rust pathogen Melampsora, and dozens of bacterial genomes.
A relic of fungal evolution, AMF diverged early on from other forms of fungus. They form dense clusters of branched structures -- called arbuscules -- in root cells, much like a tight, many-fingered handhold. The arbuscules are the main route of nutrient exchange between plants and fungi. Unable to live on their own, AMF are entirely dependent on their plant hosts for the sugars they need for food. They have carefully established their relationship with host plants, keeping them alive while sapping nutrients from them.
But AMF are also adept at capturing phosphorus from the soil and making it available for their hosts. Phosphorus, a critical element for cellular function, is otherwise difficult to extract from the soil and is often the limiting factor for how quickly a plant grows.
Scientists theorize that the benefits these fungi provided enabled ancient plants to evolve during the Paleozoic era, about 250 to 500 million years ago. Over time, plants adapted their essentially rootless primordial form and developed deeper and stronger roots to take advantage of the nutrients that underground AMF fed them. In exchange, plants provided nutrients the fungi couldn’t obtain themselves.
Analysis of the R. irregularis genome also revealed several surprising details. The research team found that the genome is among the largest fungal genomes sequenced, weighing in at 153 million base pairs (Mb). For comparison, the button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), also sequenced and published by the DOE JGI, has a genome of about 30 Mb. Through several generations, portions of R. irregularis’s genome were duplicated, invaded by repeated transposable elements, famously known as ‘jumping genes’. Unlike many other fungi, R. irregularis seems to lack mechanisms that can keep these transposable elements from running amok.
“Among the expanded portions of its genome, R. irregularis had several genes for phosphorus metabolism, which are probably responsible for its large appetite for phosphorus,” said Francis Martin, one of the senior authors on the paper and lead for the Cluster of Excellence, Advanced Research on the Biology of Tree and Forest Ecosystems (ARBRE) at the INRA (http://mycor.nancy.inra.fr/ARBRE/). “They also have an abundance of genes for communication between cells via signaling proteins, including small secreted effectors highly expressed during symbiosis. Plant roots send out a plethora of chemical signals and these genes probably help AMF interact with plants, picking up the signals plants pump out.”
Another surprise for the research team was in the genes that govern metabolism. “Obligate parasites often have broken metabolism, missing some genes in critical metabolic pathway which make them dependent on their host,” Grigoriev said. “We did not find such genes here.” R. irregularis has retained much of its metabolic machinery, unlike many other obligate parasitic organisms. It leads a double-life, extracting minerals from the soil while still living in harmony with its host plant.
Though it has nearly 30,000 protein-encoding genes, R. irregularis has also lost hundreds of genes as a result of its close association with plants. For example, it can’t make most of the toxins other plant-interacting fungi release, probably, the researchers speculate, to avoid setting off the host plant’s immune system. It has also cast off most of its genes for breaking down plant cell walls, a critical ability for free-living fungi that feed off dead organic matter in soils.
Teasing apart the complex relationship between soil fungi and plants is likely to have an impact on improving biofuel production from plant biomass. “Through analysis of this and other mycorrhizal genomes, we can help to better understand interactions and conditions critical for a sustainable growth of bioenergy plants, but also staple crops, a prerequisite to help feeding the world,” said Martin.
Learn more from researchers Grigoriev, Martin and other collaborators on the importance of fungal genomics in this video: http://bit.ly/JGI-Fungal-vid
Source.

Hello I have a huge selection of PGR's, plants and seeds for sale or trade. Have hundreds of different plants and seeds for them, although at this very moment they arent hardly listed at my site where my PGR's and other plant laboratory type chems are all up at the moment.
I've made some crash course summary pages with visual aids to help understand PGR signaling in plants, along with the importances of understanding and utilizing the other types of plant biostimulants which tends to remain as 'exotic' information for most people despite some of these concepts as beiung amongst the most important to understand for most every grower of plants.
http://massspectrumbotanicals.com/learn/http://massspectrumbotanicals.com/learn/
See the pages: Biostimulants: Health Supplements For Plants Plant Biostimulants OverviewI'll update when I my plants and seeds added to the site finally. ALl thats currently up are Calea Dream Herb plants & seeds.

http://www.disinfo.com/2012/04/planthuman-symbiosis-and-the-fall-of-humanity-interview-with-tony-wright/
Has anyone read the theory of neural evolution proposed by Tony Wright in Left In The Dark? What did you think of it? This idea is extremely fascinating to me and there seems to be a TON of evidence to support the general idea.

Hi everyone, hope you are all well. I just wanted to post a video I made and put on youtube, and I thought some people here might like to see it. Just to give you a summary of what it's about: basically it's just a 10-minute video of me expressing my love and gratitude for mother nature. I might rattle on a bit long and the camera work isn't that great, but hopefully the message gets through! I've also added some other really cool videos on my channel if you like to check them out. Hope you like it:

I recently discovered that the New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service produced this cool online map. You can hunt for particular species of plants or animals, and you view a map of your chosen area with markers showing where various sightings of the things you are looking for are located. It even shows the exact GPS co-ordinates and the date spotted.
I just did a search for Duboisia myoperoides in the Blue Mountains National Park, and there were six sightings. I thought it was a coastal species but it seems to extend inland further than I thought.
I reckon it's pretty interesting idea to go and check out plants in the wild - perhaps as a control to see if it matches up to plants we already have in our collection, or just because we would love to see it growing naturally. But, I am a bit concerned that some people might abuse this cool tool. Please do not go out there and cause damage. Just because corporations behave like that, doesn't mean we have to follow in their footsteps. Our ecosystems are fragile and under enough threat as it is without us taking great care of what we have left.
I think it might be nice to act a bit pro-actively with this stuff too, perhaps there is information we have on species that could be fed back to the Parks to help them come up with management plans for protecting endangered species.
NSW Wildlife Atlas
EDIT typos